Electrical Safety and Electrical Goods

Landlords should have a clear understanding of their responsibilities regarding electrical installations and appliances, and the duties and responsibilities placed on a landlord may include the following legislation:

  • Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016
  • Landlord and Tenant Act 1985
  • Consumer Protection Act 1987
  • Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994
  • Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016
  • Building Regulations 2000

Landlords’ Duties and Responsibilities

The legislation places obligations on landlords to ensure that all electrical appliances supplied by the landlord are safe at the date of supply (each time the property is rented).

Mains installation safety inspection report

Mains installation is the wiring, sockets, consumer unit etc.

Landlords need to ensure that the electrical installation is ‘safe’ with little risk of injury or death to humans or risk of damage to property.

Outside Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 ("the Act"), there is no statutory requirement to have safety checks on electrical installations as there is with gas. It is good practice to have the mains installation checked every five years with a visual inspection at each letting.

The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 introduced a ‘fitness for human habitation’ requirement for all occupation contracts. One of the fitness requirements is to ensure a valid electrical condition report is in force during any period of occupation. To be valid, the condition report must be no more than five years old, less if this is what the report says.

The landlord must provide a copy of the report to any new contract holder within 14 days of the occupation date. Where the check is done when the tenant is already in the property, the landlord must supply a copy within 14 days of the date the inspection was carried out.

For contracts that existed before the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, there is a transitional period of 12 months in which the landlord has to arrange the electrical safety check. This period ends if the property is re-let during that period. Electrical condition reports commissioned before the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 remain valid if they meet the criteria in the legislation.

There is, however, a statutory requirement that all HMOs (both licensable and not licensable) must have their mains installation inspected every five years.

It may also be appropriate that a more frequent inspection regime will be necessary where any risk is found, for example, where an installation is old or where damage is regularly seen.

Periodic inspection and testing and any necessary remedial work must only be undertaken by someone competent to do such work. On completion, a report indicating the installation is satisfactory (or why it is not) should be issued by the person carrying out the work. This should be acted upon and retained by the landlord.

Reports obtained before commencement of Renting Homes

A report obtained before commencement of the Renting Homes Act is acceptable whilst it remains valid (less than five years or date in the report if less). An electrical installation certificate issued concerning a new build within five years is acceptable:

… an Electrical Installation Certificate covering the whole of a newly built dwelling satisfies the definition of an ‘electrical condition report’ required under Regulation 6 of the FFHH regulations.

[source: Fitness of homes for human habitation: guidance for landlords]

Written confirmation of works

Providing a written confirmation of works is a separate duty and should not be confused with the safety inspection report described above.

Whenever any investigatory or remedial work is carried out on the electrical installation at the dwelling (whether that work is about a safety report or not) (we will refer to this as “works”), a written confirmation must be given to the contract-holder as outlined below.

“Written confirmation of work” means, in relation to investigatory or remedial work, a copy of written confirmation, from a qualified person, that the work in question has been carried out (r.6(8)).

Works before occupation

For a new occupation contract starting on or after the Act starts and existing converted contracts up to 12 months as described earlier, the following is required:

For all works done after the most recent report and before the occupation date, the landlord must provide written confirmation for each work within 14 days of the occupation date (but in reality will be attached to the written statement) (r.6(3)(b))

Works during the contract

For all works done after the occupation date, every time some work is done to the electrical installation, a written confirmation must be given to the contract-holder within 14 days from when the landlord receives the confirmation (r.6(5)):

These written confirmations will need to be retained because any work since the most recent safety report will need to be given to any new contract-holder before that new occupation date.

Treated as unfit

A dwelling is to be treated as unfit for human habitation at a time when the landlord does not have a valid electrical safety inspection report and the contract-holder has not been given a copy within 14 days (except existing converted contracts, which have up to 12 months).

A dwelling is treated as unfit at a time when the contract-holder has not been given a written confirmation of work within 14 days.

Possession

No section 173 notice (the no reason notice) may be given when the dwelling is treated as unfit.

More information

The Welsh Government has produced guidance about the fitness for human habitation rules.

Electrical equipment

Electrical equipment is anything that uses or operates by electricity, between 50 and 1,000 volts AC (residential supply is 240v AC).

Landlords need to ensure that all electrical equipment, including appliances, is ‘safe’ with little risk of injury or death to humans or risk of property damage. This includes all mains voltage household electric goods supplied by the landlord, such as cookers, kettles, toasters, electric blankets, washing machines, night storage heaters, extractor fans etc. Any equipment supplied must also be marked with the appropriate CE marking (Conformité Européene / Declaration of Conformity) or the British UKCA marking (UK Conformity Assessed).

In addition, under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, the manufacturer’s instructions and safety information must be provided with the appliance at each letting, which must be in English. The equipment must be correctly labelled by having a serial number (or something similar) and the name and address of the manufacturer. This information can be in the instructions or safety information (where the equipment is too small). Where equipment is not safe or does not meet these requirements, you must take necessary corrective measures by bringing that electrical equipment into conformity or withdrawing the electrical equipment.

To meet these obligations, either supply new appliances or get any appliances provided checked by a qualified electrician before the property is let to new tenants. You should keep all paperwork regarding the items (i.e. receipts, warranties, records of inspection) for six years.

One way of helping to achieve safety is to undertake a regular formal inspection of the equipment every 2.5 years. The Electrical Safety Council advises that, as a minimum, landlords should (at each letting):

  • check the condition of wiring, and check for poorly fitted plugs, cracks and chips in casings, charring, burn marks or any other obvious fault or damage
  • check that the correct type and rating of fuses are installed
  • ensure a competent person checks all supplied appliances at reasonable periods and that any hazardous items are removed from the property. Record details of all electrical appliances, including their condition and fuse rating
  • ensure that instruction booklets are available at the property for all appliances and that any necessary safety warnings are given to occupiers
  • avoid purchasing second-hand electrical appliances for rented properties that may not be safe and
  • maintain records of all checks carried out.

Use of inventory

The inventory can be used as evidence of any visual inspection and compliance with the regulations. For example (but not limited to), the inventory could show the following in respect of a kettle (ideally accompanied by a photograph):

Kettle condition – new

Cable and insulation – as new

Plug – sleeved

Fuse – 13amp

Lid seal – as new

CE marking – present

Instructions – present (in English)

Safety information – present (in English)

Serial number – present

Name and address of manufacturer – present

Name and address of importer – present

Building Regulations Part P

The design, installation, inspection and testing of electrical installations are controlled under Part P of the Building Regulations, which applies to houses and flats and includes gardens and outbuildings such as sheds, garages and greenhouses.

All work that involves adding a new circuit or carried out in “wet areas” (for example, bathrooms, kitchens, utility rooms or outside) will need to be either carried out by an installer registered with a Government-approved competent person scheme or notified to building control before the work takes place. Generally, small jobs such as replacing a socket outlet or a light switch on an existing circuit in a ‘dry area’ will not be notified to the local authority building control.

You can find more details in Approved Document P published by the CLG and their guidance leaflet Rules for Electrical Safety in the Home. On completing any new electrical installation work, an Electrical Installation Certificate or Minor Works Form should be issued by the electrician or installer carrying out the job, and the landlord should retain this. According to Government guidance, these documents are not suitable for the report under the fitness obligations, as detailed earlier, and those obligations require a safety inspection for the report.

Local authority building control officers enforce building regulations, and you can consult them for further information about compliance with these regulations.

Further Guidance

For further guidance about electrical safety and the competency of electricians and installers to carry out new work or undertake the formal periodic inspection and test of an existing installation, refer to the information provided on the Electrical Safety Council’s website: https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/

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